Grand Opening of imagiNATIONS Activity Center

NEW YORK — The imagiNATIONS Activity Center is the newest educational initiative coming to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center in New York. The grand-opening event will begin with a welcome reception at 9:30 a.m., followed by a blessing ceremony and welcome remarks by distinguished guests and community leaders at 10 a.m. The center will then open and the fifth-grade students of Public School 276 will be the first school group to experience the space. All guests will also be welcomed to explore the activities. Museum officials/project coordinators will be available for comment.

This multimillion-dollar upgrade to the museum transforms former office space into modernized educational and exhibition spaces. The content is bilingual (English and Spanish) and embraces STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education and introduces young visitors to Native innovations throughout history that continue to impact modern life. Along with its youth-education mission, imagiNATIONS will also play host to teacher training and cross-cultural collaborations with Native communities through onsite and distance learning.

Media interactives, mechanical hands-on activities, handling objects and introductory texts and graphics will also stress the holistic Native American approach to innovation, critical thinking, creative problem solving and sustainability. The space’s various topical sections home in on themes of agriculture, physics, chemistry, mathematics, architecture and more.

About The Author

Levi Rickert, a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, is the publisher and editor of Native News Online. Previously, he served as editor of the Native News Network. He is a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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